Stereology with Artificial Intelligence for Examining Cells and Circuits in Neuroscience Research

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Stereology is the gold-standard method for analyzing the number, shape and size of brain cells for analyzing neural circuits. It is an essential tool for any neuroscience laboratory, and is the mode through which ground-breaking scientific discoveries about the brain and neural circuits are made. Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) does not have any stereology equipment. With a stereology system, our researchers and students would be able to amplify their existing research questions to better understand a range of natural processes of the brain, including how specific neural circuits work and what causes them to malfunction throughout life, how sex differences in the brain manifest and how stress responses lead to neural changes. The requested stereology system with artificial intelligence (AI) automatically quantifies the number, shape and size of three-dimensional (3D) structures. This new automated deep-learning AI software from SRC Stereologer comes with the capability of detecting two cell types (i.e., NeuN - neuron stain, and Iba-1 - microglia stain), with further possibility of learning. This automatization approach uses deep learning AI in a 2-step process: first, the network "learns" the desired cells of interest by processing ground truth via images marked to show the cells of interest. Then, this technology uses this information to calculate the total number of cells of interest using the optical fractionator and stereological approach. For MUN researchers in neuroscience and related fields, access to stereology with AI will enable us to collect high-quality data on an internationally reputable scale in a time- and cost-efficient manner. With recent developments in the AI module (product of National Institute of Health initiative), cell counting is 30-60 times faster and far more accurate compared to the labor-intensive and error-prone manual method that is currently our only option. Since MUN is the only university of the island of Newfoundland, there is no practical alternative for MUN researchers to access stereology equipment. The requested equipment will allow for the growth of dozens of NSERC-funded research programs at MUN and the training of ~200 HQP each year. This stereology unit will accelerate productivity and discovery, while allowing our researchers and students to stay internationally competitive in our pursuit of advancing knowledge of the nervous system.